A Different Kind Of Lunar New Year

It was a slightly different Chinese Lunar New Year for me as I did not spend the eve with Karen and Kyra at the in-laws in Bukit Jalil. Felt that I had taken a break for Xmas and needed to work although it was both a public holiday and press shutdown. So made a day trip to KL and shot back to Malacca to cover the New Year Eve countdown at Jonker Street. (It drizzled...lol)

So here I was all alone...just me, my guitar and a bowl of Maggie Mee (Asam Laksa of course) for New Year dinner. Wasn't that bad although it got a bit quiet. (without Kyra around) Spend New Year's day working and trying to catch the Annular Eclipse although zonked out on a couple of beers later that evening.

The second day of the festive season proved a little more exciting as when on photo hunt (or should I say photo shoot). Had quite a ball clicking away although wished had more time to compose better shots of the subjects.

Had some spare time in between the two days and did a little posing for the camera myself....all dressed up. (tripod and timer of course). Anyway, as mentioned, had a quiet but interesting Lunar New Year.....

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace And Love.

Starry Starry Night

Finally managed to catch Venus on the rise on a clear cloudless nite. Have been waiting for the right opportunity to try out this el'cheapo telescope to see if it works as claimed. Bought it more than a year ago from a hypermarket (hence el'cheapo more of a toy than real telescope) and used it to view the Moon. Pretty cool.

Well, Venus was really bright and nice. (Look west between 8pm and 9pm about 30 degree up to locate the brightess 'star' i.e which is actually Venus) Managed to view it and it was merely a small little 'half-moon' dot through the telescope. Thought it would have looked bigger but still a satisfying experience nonetheless. Even got Kyra to view it and she said it 'look like half a moon'.

Anyway, this Chinese New Year on Jan 26 will also be a significant date in astronomy as there will be a 'Annular Eclipse' visible to most parts of Asia. Cool. What a coincidence ya.....to usher in the new year with a spectacular heavenly event.(http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2009.html)

Love the song 'Vincent' by Don McLean, a very poetic piece depicting the tragic life of Vincent Van Gogh and thought it apt to dedicate as the title of this post. Also posted a painting by my Uncle Jolly Koh, a renown artist whose works can be found in the hands of several prestigious private and instituitional collectors.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Happy New Year...Chinese style.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is just round the bend and will usher in the year of the 'Golden Ox' this Jan 26 i.e that the animal represented in the Chinese Horoscope has completed a full cycle ( 1 cycle = 12 years x 12 cycles = 60 years ).

To all, I wish a Happy Chinese New Year, may it bring prosperity, good health and peace. May the wheel of time continue to turn....

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Veritas Lux Mea

Its strange how we easily forget that if we strip away the layers of enculturation, artificial labels and social conformity, we, all of us, are human.
In that respect, no one is born Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu. We come into being and into this world as a 'human'....one that is driven by a myriad of emotional states and differing level of consciousness and controlled by both weakness and strengths.
To deny ones 'humanness' is to deny ones true self and limit the possibility of self discovery. Its the misconception of who we truly are, i.e merely human, that has led to a lot of inner strive.
To each his own and I believe that ultimately 'faith' will be the light that guides us out of the darkness of ignorance.

Psalms 23

The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Amen

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Blowing Hot and Cold.

The weather has really been freaky lately...by that I mean that its gotten pretty chilly the past week or so. Its usually kind of warm with tempretures hitting 30 Celcius and drops between 27 and 26 Celcius when the air-conditioner in the room is set at 21 Celcius to 22 Celcius.

However, even without the air-conditioner on, the mercury has dropped to between 27 Celcius and 25 Celcius. Even the heater at maximum does not feel its usual 'hot'. (England is facing is coldest period or cold snaps since the lat 15 years while certain parts of US is facing really cold weather). That's not all, the winds have been blowing rather strong, even gale like over the last few days.

So, is it just the change in the monsoon or the so called North winds..during the Chinese Lunar New Year period?

Well, we seem to be mimicking nature as we, humans, are getting a little more confused and unstable. War in the Gaza, ongoing killings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Langka, Thailand, global economic crisis and so forth. Its a matter of time before somthing snaps or gives.

As it is written, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord' and 'Your Will be done' .
Just pray that things will work out though.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Faith That Everything Happens For A Reason

'For those who have faith, no explanation is needed'. I am such a cartoon and hilariously baffling at times...a paradox wrapped in an egnima.

By that, I mean that I would like to consider myself a logical person who believes in hard facts or rationale scientific or plausible explanation for most things. (lol..although I sometimes behave beyond my own logic or age).

A good example is me having taught Kyra that there is no such thing as ghosts (i.e such as potrayed in the movies) or even Santa Claus for a matter of fact. Tell jer that there is and her reply would be 'talking silly..no such thing'.

Yet, there is also the side of me that also holds on to the belief that there are things that defy logic and ought to be taken on 'faith'. Like the concept of 'time' or 'beauty', faith is a relative matter and can mean a 1,001 things depending on how its viewed. (lol...like my sis in Selangor who prays to the Almighty, the creator of the Universe, when hunting for a parking space at the mall..and presto...she finds one).

For me, I do firmly believe that everthing happens for a reason, be it good or bad. It does not matter if good fortune smiles on me or if life seems unfair at times....it just part and parcel of a higher purpose that is beyond the comprehension of my limited and human mind. However, this only applies where freewill is dormant, i.e..that we are able to forsee and shape the consequences of our action.

In this respect, its been more almost 20 years since I have been following world events....the latest being Israel's invasion of Gaza....this too, to me is an event that is happening for a reason. There are certain things which must come to pass and they will.

I take all things as happening for a reason and have faith the everything will somehow work out fine...because I do believe that there is a God who is and will continue to look out for me and my family.

I pray that those whom I have come to know through my life's journey are fortunate enough to share the same faith...and remain safe in God's love.

To Him All Glory, Honor and Praise.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Lights, Action.....

As posted earlier, had to cover the Chinese New Year Chinese Lantern Festival at Jonker Street on Jan 10, an event I was looking forward too despite having to walk and literally being on my feet for several hours.

This was so because being at work also meant that I had the opportunity to take sneak a couple of shots of the year's brightest and biggest full Moon, called a perigree Moon. Must admit that I wish I had done better with my G9 but nevertheless managed to get one or two decent shots. (well worth my aching feet)

Hope that will be able to catch the Moon later in the wee hours of morning as will be up to catch Liverpool play Stoke City live on tele.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace And Love.

A New Moon For The Lunar New Year

I was aware on Friday that the full moon on Jan 10, Saturday would be the brightest and biggest for the year and was planning to catch some shots. Was having a dip in the pool (butt freezing cold) with Kyra when I noticed the moon was already out in the evening sky at bout 6.30pm and managed to squeeze in several shots.

This weekend's full Moon is the biggest full Moon of the year. It's a "perigee Moon" as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons (Spaceweather.com - one of the sites that I have been visiting on a daily basis since 1998 and is related to my obession with 'signs of the endtimes').

Wanted to take more shots of teh moon later that night but had to rush over to the reclaim area in nearby Padang Temu to cover a story about a Chinese bloke living nearby who was stabbed to death in his car. (Tragic end to life)

Anyway, the Chinese Lunar New Year (Year of the Golden Ox) is just around the bend and will be out later to cover the ceremony to light up Jonker Street. Should be good opportunity for photo hunt.

To the living....life life to the fullest...coz when its over...its over. (at least till we rise again to be judged)

p/s - Love feeding my sis's dog Tushy, this old female Beagle, that had this knack for non-stop eating during the xmas holiday.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace And Love.

Its Official...Darn.

Yup...its official. I've been piling on the kilos resulting in a expanded waistline due to stuffing myself silly with food and not because of hormonal imbalances in my once stunning body. Got my results back from the docs and they showed that my hormones are balanced and my hyperthyroidism is well under control.

So...there goes my chances of losing weight the hyperthyroid way. Believe me you, hyperthyroidism causes rapid weight loss eventhough one may be stufffing his or her face silly with food. You could eat and eat yet not put on weight owing to increased metabolism which burn away everything. (the down side was that my heart rate was between 110 to 120 as opposed to the normal rate of 76 beats per minute and my metabolism was so high that it was burning away not only at my fats but also my muscles)

At the height of my hormonal imbalance, I weighed 56kg compared to my usual 70kg (boo, hoo., hoo I am currently 76.4kg....more than six kilos off my ideal weight). I was able to fit into one of my older jeans, size 29...and was darn proud of it as that was what my waistline measured when I was 18. (boo hoo hoo...my size 32 has now expanded to 34 plus). As I am not blessed with height (only good looks), putting on weight and an expanding waistline are my biggest fear...fear that I will look even shorter. (my nickname in school was Jepun Pendek or short Japanese)

So I guess its a matter of self control and discipline if I ever want to regain my once perfect body...lol. Its back to plain good old fashion abstinence from excessive face stuffing and exercise. I guess that will be my New Year resolution.....lose some weight so that I can pretend to grow taller....lol.

Posted some pix that shows the progression of my 'fat' and me growing shorter due to the optical illusion caused by an expanding waistline. Photos cover a period between 2000 to present.

p/s Founder of Apple Mac, Steve Jobs has confirmed that he is seeking treatment for hormonal as there was lots of speculation over his rapid weight loss.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.